Sitting all day: effects on health

The nature of the work of many people, often sitting in front of a computer screen, can cause serious health problems. What are the ways to avoid damaging your quality of life after a few months or years of sitting? At sunrise, we sit at the table or counter top to make the first meal of the day. Then we moved into his vehicle, sitting, or in transit sitting still, if there’s room to get to the office. Having been sitting all day even at the mealtime, workers return home to make dinner usually sitting and moved then to the TV, sitting still. Finally, several sit in bed to read a little before sleep. Actually, many workers are sitting more than twelve hours per day. And this habit has a name: the couch potato syndrome. Surprised? For humans, sitting is not natural, far from it. This sedentary lifestyle adopted by more and more people is harmful.

Sitting, danger!

The sitting position can cause many health problems. Among the most common, there are: frequent pain or arthritic diseases, due to the lack of flexibility; inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis – poor blood circulation. Furthermore varicose veins, slowing the heart deprives muscles of oxygen necessary for their proper functioning; heart disease, mainly because of rising levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. A study shows also that people seated more than 23 hours per week were 64% more likely to die from heart disease an increase in body weight (the risk is 125%). After 90 minutes, the metabolism slows down and blood lipids rises.

However, the latter is responsible for the increase in body weight or obesity; muscle weakness due to lack of exercise; poor posture, which generally causes neck pain and shoulders. Back pain may even become permanent; Deformation of floors body including wrist injuries among those who use computers, and neck injuries for those who keep their heads constantly bent; a 1% loss of bone mass, especially among women a risk of developing diabetes. This risk doubles for those who remain in a sitting position a 30% increase in the incidence of prostate cancer, colon or breast cancer among people sitting more than six hours per day, after 10 or 20 years this plan.

To avoid problems

In fact, you have little choice. The seating position has multiple hazards, both for health and for your well-being. However, there are some very simple ways to counteract the effects. You could include: exercise: doctors recommend more than 30 minutes of walking per day, would that reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels regularly get up to walk a bit and you shake, make a short walk five minutes every hour standing in transit; use the bike to go to work and come home; park your car at 15 or 20 minute walk from the office, extend your legs under (or over) the office, even if it is not very polite; go see your colleagues instead of their email; prefer stairs to elevators, just to make a little year; make your workstation more ergonomic as possible chair, desk, computer screen, established to permit frequent changes of position. moving! Is it necessary to repeat it? Sitting down, and use the car back on the couch in the evening watching TV is harmful to health. You now know the risks, you act. There goes your health.